Adjustable beds have long been available to average consumers. Nevertheless, the average American household does not have an adjustable bed. Most people associate adjustable beds with the sick and elderly. One is much more likely to find an adjustable bed in a hospital or convalescent center than in the apartment of a young adult or in the home of a young family. But young and middle aged consumers can also benefit from the convenience of being able to watch television or read more comfortably in bed.
Unfortunately, there are multiple disadvantages to adjustable beds that most consumers find outweigh the added comfort and convenience that adjustable beds provide. One disadvantage is that a conventional adjustable bed cannot be used in combination with a box spring or platform bed. The mattress of a conventional adjustable bed rests on an adjustable support member instead of on a box spring. The adjustable support member in connected to a movement mechanism and to a frame with wheels. The wheeled frame, support member and movement mechanism do not easily fit on top of a box spring or platform bed. In order to use a conventional adjustable bed, the consumer must forego the aesthetic qualities of a platform bed or a box spring framed by a headboard and footboard. Consequently, a conventional adjustable bed imparts the appearance of a hospital room as opposed to a bedroom.
FIG. 1 (prior art) shows a conventional adjustable bed 10 with an adjustable support member 11, a movement mechanism 12 and a frame with wheels 13. Movement mechanism 12 is positioned by a motor that is hidden below adjustable support member 11 in the perspective of FIG. 1. A mattress 14 rests on adjustable support member 11. Many young and middle aged consumers are deterred from purchasing an adjustable bed such as the one shown in FIG. 1 because they feel it does not fit their life style and belongs more appropriately in a hospital. An adjustable bed is sought that can be used with a stylish platform bed or with a headboard and footboard in order for manufacturers of adjustable beds to reach a larger customer base.
Another disadvantage of conventional adjustable beds is that the mattress does not bend sufficiently in an inclined sitting position to conform to the underlying adjustable support member. Adjustable bed 10 in FIG. 1 is in an inclined sitting position. In FIG. 1, mattress 14 in the section below an occupant's thighs has not bent sufficiently to conform to adjustable support member 11 and has created a gap 15. Because mattress 14 does not adequately conform to the shape of adjustable support member 11, the sleeping surface of mattress 14 does not achieve the configuration formed by adjustable support member 11, and the occupant of adjustable bed 10 does not benefit from the desired resting position. The various sitting and reclining positions achieved by adjustable bed 10 depend on which mattress is used.
Yet another disadvantage of conventional adjustable beds is that the mattress tends to shift or slide from side to side and from end to end when the occupant enters and exits the bed. In an attempt to solve this problem, some conventional adjustable beds employ a foot rail. For example, adjustable bed 10 has a foot rail 16 in the shape of a bent metal tube. Foot rail 16 does not, however, prevent mattress 14 from protruding beyond the top of adjustable support member 11 when adjustable bed 10 is placed in the elevated sitting position, as shown in FIG. 1. In addition, foot rail 16 is a metal bar near the sleeping surface of the foot of mattress 14. An occupant's foot could hit the metal bar if the occupant's leg is energetically lowered over the end of mattress 14.
And foot rail 16 does not prevent mattress 14 from shifting from side to side. FIG. 1 shows that the foot of mattress 14 has shifted to the left 17, and the head of the mattress has shifted to the right 18 from the perspective of a reclining occupant. Mattress 14 will be increasingly skewed after each exit and entry into adjustable bed 10. To solve this problem, some conventional adjustable beds employ mattress retention brackets such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,737,783. It is likely, however, that the occupant's body will come in contact with the metal retention brackets that are placed near the edge of the sleeping surface of the mattress. Moreover, it is difficult to insert bedding under the mattress when one must slip the bedding between the mattress and the mattress retention brackets or foot rail.
An adjustable bed is sought that can be used with a platform bed and whose mattress conforms to the desired configurations and is prevented from shifting without using retention brackets and foot rails.